Working for a micromanaging boss can feel like being in an unhealthy relationship, but you don't have to cringe in fear or keep your head low hoping that you don't attract their attention on a given day. Often, micromanaging bosses are simply under pressure themselves to meet shifting deadlines, and lack the empathy to understand how their behavior influences others. If you pay attention to the meetings they're going to and the changes in their workload, you can adapt to the things that stress them out so they'll stop bothering you.

There are a number of great tips over at Forbes on how to manage a micromanager, and most of them are great, but we can definitely vouch for making sure you keep one eye on your boss's priorities to make sure you're working and delivering on the things that stress them out first.

We've offered our own tips for working with a bad boss and how to make yourself a better employee in spite of your awful boss, but one core point keeps surfacing: your boss's priorities are the ones they're going to beat you up over, so make sure the things you're working on line up with those priorities. Pay attention to the things that your boss's boss demand of them, especially those things they ask for at the last minute, or when your boss's responsibilities shift—that kind of work usually rolls downhill, and if your boss isn't very good at management, it'll roll downhill fast and hard.

Traditionally we think of the hierarchy in the workplace as top down, but if top down is making you …
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It can be difficult to organize your priorities when it seems like everything is important, but we have some suggestions to help you with that, too. In the end though, some disrespectful, micromanaging bosses are best left behind in favor of a new job, and you should vote with your feet if you're really unhappy, but if you think your micromanaging boss is just a victim of their own stress, a little empathy and attention can work wonders. How do you deal with micromanaging managers? Share your tips in the comments below.